Fic: Jabberwocky: Part 14a/?
Gene walked slowly out of Sam’s room, not wanting to leave him alone, even with the nurse. He paused for a moment outside of the door, trying to think of things that he could say to Dr. Barrie and Morgan, and not coming up with anything other than threats, coupled with a strong desire to smash both of their heads against the wall. Why the hell would they have possibly decided to keep him out of the loop on the condition of one of his officers? What exactly was Morgan playing at? He tried to take a few deep breaths to calm down, but it only served as a reminder that his DI, no, his Sam, couldn’t do so, couldn’t breathe at all without help from a bloody damned tube. He slammed his fists backwards and into the wall behind him, the hard physical contact sending a much-needed jolt of… Something he couldn’t even define through him, and he tried once again to collect his thoughts. It was at that moment that the lift doors, down the hall and partially concealed by the nurses’ station, opened, spilling a frantic Annie, Ray, and Chris out and into the hallway.
“Gov!” Ray shouted at him, and he turned, taking in the fact that they were all practically racing towards him. Adrenaline and hope surged through him like electricity as he turned to face them.
“You lot come up with a lead?” He felt his heartbeat quicken at the thought.
“Gov, we think he might come here, looking for Sam,” Annie spat it out quickly, terror filling her eyes. Gene fixed her with a hard stare, and then let his gaze dart back and forth between his three officers, waiting for an explanation. The thought sent chills racing down his spine.
“Grey’s secretary, Julie, she mentioned that there was another artist that met Myers frequently, and then, Chris said that the sculpture you found, it came from Hyde…” Gene’s eyes went wide and he felt anger surging through him as he realized exactly what they’d stumbled upon.
“You think that the artist that made that thing in the museum came from Hyde, and he’s our killer? And if he came from Hyde…” Gene felt an odd, dizzy sensation ripple through him, and he backed against the wall, then shoved himself off of it, hard.
“So we think this bloke might be after the boss, might even be choosing fellas that look like him as his victims, like, because he was looking for him,” Ray added, and Gene ran his hands quickly and violently through his hair. He paused for a moment, finding his pulse pounding in his ears again, angry, violent thoughts once again filling him.
“Listen, you lot, I want you on the horn to the station, I want at least two plod and one of us here at all times, and double the night shift to include two plod as well as those two plonks. That DCI from Hyde is here, in with that damned poofter of a doctor right now, and I’m going to lay in on him about this, see if he doesn’t have any more information. If this sick bastard really does have a bloody vendetta against Sam, I want to know, now. And I don’t want anyone coming near that room unless they’ve got one of you or our uniformed lot in with them, and that includes everyone, porters, nurses, anyone. I’m not having a repeat of what happened to that poor Paki, especially not with one of our own!” The idea of anyone coming after Sam, especially now, filled Gene with burning rage, and he stormed down the corridor, throwing over his shoulder, “Ray, Chris, you stay with Cartwright until the plod turn up! And all of you, wait here, I’m coming out, and I’d bloody damned well be coming out with answers from that smug Hyde git!”
Annie watched as Gene thundered down the hallway, pausing only to throw a decidedly nasty look at the nurses. Her eyes were wide as she watched him disappear into one of the offices on the far side of the hospital floor, and she swallowed, hard.
“Gov’s on a right war path, he is,” Ray said, and he threw a knowing look at both Annie and Chris. “I’ll use their phone, ring up for the plod. You two go check on ‘im,” he added, and he headed towards the nurses’ station. Annie and Chris nodded, and then turned towards the door.
Chris stood nearest the door, and reached out a hand to open it, but found that he couldn’t. His hand trembled for a moment, hanging above the doorknob, and then he pulled back, swallowing rapidly and wrapping his arms around himself. Annie stared at him, trying to read him, and then placed a hand on his shoulder. “Chris?” Chris stared at her, wide-eyed, his face darting back and forth so that his gaze was shifting between the door and Annie, and she tightened her grip on his shoulder, watching as he winced. She withdrew her hand, guessing that she’d managed to push into one of the bruises from his fight with Ray.
“Come on, we’ll go in together, all right?” Annie reached for the doorknob, and Chris nodded, backing up slightly as she pulled the door open. Chris stared at the floor as they entered, finding it impossible to look up until he heard Annie gasp. His head shot up, and then he quickly turned away, feeling his stomach flip around inside of him. They’d replaced the long tube going into Sam’s mouth, and the sight of it stirred up more old memories inside of him, forcing him to avert his gaze and stare at the wall.
Annie slowly walked up to the bed, feeling tears streaking down her cheeks as she did so, and she turned to the nurse. “WDC Annie Cartwright. I’ll be here until midnight.” She left it at that, and then reached out to slowly stroke Sam’s face, feeling the tears well in her eyes again. “God, he’s burning up,” she whispered, and the nurse nodded at her, a sympathetic look on her face. “And the tube…” Annie ran her fingers along the edge of Sam’s mouth, careful not to bump the long plastic thing that seemed to be invading Sam like some grotesque horror film monster.
“It’s a special machine, breathes for him,” the nurse stated, trying to sound helpful, and Annie turned an angry glare on her.
“I know what it is. They took it out before; when did they put it back in?” She had to fight to keep from shouting at the nurse.
“They put him back on it this afternoon; he’ll probably have to stay on it for at least another day or two,” the nurse said, a defensive look clouding her features.
“He wasn’t so bad just yesterday, how could he… He’s going to be all right, though?” She stared at the nurse, feeling her eyes drilling holes into the other woman’s face, and the nurse bit her lower lip.
“Doctors are doing all they can. See this?” The nurse gestured to a large plastic tube full of liquid and attached to the bottom of the IV bottle. “Best antibiotics we’ve got, doctors say, real strong. Didn’t want to put him on it before because it’s so strong, it’s hard on other parts of him, but Doctor Denslow says he’s strong enough for it.”
“Annie…” Chris whispered her name, and Annie shook her head.
“Not now, Chris, I’m talking to the nurse,” she snapped at Chris, a bit more forcefully than she intended to, and then looked back at the nurse. “They’re certain he’ll make a full recovery though? Tell me they’re certain he’s going to make a full recovery,” Annie leaned forward, not caring if she was raising her voice to the other woman, who continued to shrink away from her.
“Please, Miss, calm down,” the nurse stammered, and something inside of Annie snapped.
“It’s Detective Cartwright. Not ‘Miss’, not ‘Love’, not ‘Dear,’ not anything else. Understand?” The nurse nodded. “Good. Now, have the doctors said that they’re certain he’ll make a full recovery?” Annie realized how loud her voice had grown, and backed away slightly, taking a few deep breaths, not daring to look at Sam again until the nurse answered her.
“They haven’t said as such, but I’ve seen other cases, especially when they’re young and otherwise healthy, and, and…” The nurse climbed slowly to her feet speaking in a low, calm voice, and Annie felt her own anger rise as she realized that the nurse was trying to adjust her own tone of voice to calm her down.
“Don’t you dare speak like that to me, I don’t need calming down!” She snapped, and the nurse nodded.
“Annie…” Chris said her name again, and placed a hand on her shoulder. She whirled around and snapped at him.
“Chris, I am perfectly calm!” She threw his hand off of her shoulder, roughly, and then turned back to the nurse, who was looking past her, staring at Chris.
“Sir?” The nurse gave Chris a questioning look, and Annie whirled around, noticing that Chris was staring at the wall, his face white.
“Chris?” Annie asked, and he raised his arm, pointing at the wall above Sam’s bed. Annie turned around and looked, and then gasped again. There, carved into the wall above Sam’s head, barely perceptible in the yellow light of the room, was the same marking that he had drawn on the pad at the station. It was turned sideways, the points of the letter facing the door, a W or an M, intercut with a strange, swirling pattern of ellipses. It was carved very lightly into the paint, but it was still there, and it was definitely the same pattern. She slowly moved to face the nurse again, her blood turning to ice in her veins. “How long has that been there?”
The nurse gave her the same odd look that she had given Chris earlier, and then turned to look at the wall. “I didn’t even notice it. Hard to see, isn’t it? I don’t know…” Annie turned to Chris, and their eyes locked, dead fear shining behind both pairs of eyes.
Ray chose that moment to enter the room, speaking to them as he opened the door, “I’ve got two plod coming, and ol’ Jimmy is setting up the next shifts for the night, leaving day shifts up to Phyllis, so… What?” He stared at the two of them, and they both pointed at the wall.
“That marking,” Annie whispered, “It’s the same one that was on the bottom of the sculpture Chris and the Gov found at the Antheneum.” She and Chris both turned and looked at Ray, who was squinting at the wall.
“Bloody hell. The bastard’s been here…” Ray felt his fists clenching at his sides, and he moved towards the door. “You two, stay put, I’m gonna get the Gov,” he said, and moved out of the doorway.
Chris backed slowly up against the far wall of the small room until his back was slammed into the plaster of it, and then slowly slid down to the floor, his eyes still locked on the mark. Annie took a step towards him, and then decided to leave him be for a moment, turning back to Sam. She knelt beside the bed and clasped his hand in both of hers, and then turned her attention back to the nurse. “We need to find someone that knows how long that mark has been there. It’s very important.”
The nurse met Annie’s eyes and nodded, and Annie turned her gaze back to Sam, reaching one arm out to smooth down his hair and caress the side of his face. “We’ll keep you safe, Sam. I promise. I swear.” Her voice caught in her throat as she said it, and then she looked back at the nurse, who moved towards the door.
“I’ll be right back, Detective Cartwright,” she said, and then vanished, leaving Annie and Chris alone in the room with Sam’s still form, the only sounds the thump and hiss of the respirator, and the beating of their own hearts, drumming wildly in their ears.
All comments and criticsm are highly encouraged and appreciated!
“Gov!” Ray shouted at him, and he turned, taking in the fact that they were all practically racing towards him. Adrenaline and hope surged through him like electricity as he turned to face them.
“You lot come up with a lead?” He felt his heartbeat quicken at the thought.
“Gov, we think he might come here, looking for Sam,” Annie spat it out quickly, terror filling her eyes. Gene fixed her with a hard stare, and then let his gaze dart back and forth between his three officers, waiting for an explanation. The thought sent chills racing down his spine.
“Grey’s secretary, Julie, she mentioned that there was another artist that met Myers frequently, and then, Chris said that the sculpture you found, it came from Hyde…” Gene’s eyes went wide and he felt anger surging through him as he realized exactly what they’d stumbled upon.
“You think that the artist that made that thing in the museum came from Hyde, and he’s our killer? And if he came from Hyde…” Gene felt an odd, dizzy sensation ripple through him, and he backed against the wall, then shoved himself off of it, hard.
“So we think this bloke might be after the boss, might even be choosing fellas that look like him as his victims, like, because he was looking for him,” Ray added, and Gene ran his hands quickly and violently through his hair. He paused for a moment, finding his pulse pounding in his ears again, angry, violent thoughts once again filling him.
“Listen, you lot, I want you on the horn to the station, I want at least two plod and one of us here at all times, and double the night shift to include two plod as well as those two plonks. That DCI from Hyde is here, in with that damned poofter of a doctor right now, and I’m going to lay in on him about this, see if he doesn’t have any more information. If this sick bastard really does have a bloody vendetta against Sam, I want to know, now. And I don’t want anyone coming near that room unless they’ve got one of you or our uniformed lot in with them, and that includes everyone, porters, nurses, anyone. I’m not having a repeat of what happened to that poor Paki, especially not with one of our own!” The idea of anyone coming after Sam, especially now, filled Gene with burning rage, and he stormed down the corridor, throwing over his shoulder, “Ray, Chris, you stay with Cartwright until the plod turn up! And all of you, wait here, I’m coming out, and I’d bloody damned well be coming out with answers from that smug Hyde git!”
Annie watched as Gene thundered down the hallway, pausing only to throw a decidedly nasty look at the nurses. Her eyes were wide as she watched him disappear into one of the offices on the far side of the hospital floor, and she swallowed, hard.
“Gov’s on a right war path, he is,” Ray said, and he threw a knowing look at both Annie and Chris. “I’ll use their phone, ring up for the plod. You two go check on ‘im,” he added, and he headed towards the nurses’ station. Annie and Chris nodded, and then turned towards the door.
Chris stood nearest the door, and reached out a hand to open it, but found that he couldn’t. His hand trembled for a moment, hanging above the doorknob, and then he pulled back, swallowing rapidly and wrapping his arms around himself. Annie stared at him, trying to read him, and then placed a hand on his shoulder. “Chris?” Chris stared at her, wide-eyed, his face darting back and forth so that his gaze was shifting between the door and Annie, and she tightened her grip on his shoulder, watching as he winced. She withdrew her hand, guessing that she’d managed to push into one of the bruises from his fight with Ray.
“Come on, we’ll go in together, all right?” Annie reached for the doorknob, and Chris nodded, backing up slightly as she pulled the door open. Chris stared at the floor as they entered, finding it impossible to look up until he heard Annie gasp. His head shot up, and then he quickly turned away, feeling his stomach flip around inside of him. They’d replaced the long tube going into Sam’s mouth, and the sight of it stirred up more old memories inside of him, forcing him to avert his gaze and stare at the wall.
Annie slowly walked up to the bed, feeling tears streaking down her cheeks as she did so, and she turned to the nurse. “WDC Annie Cartwright. I’ll be here until midnight.” She left it at that, and then reached out to slowly stroke Sam’s face, feeling the tears well in her eyes again. “God, he’s burning up,” she whispered, and the nurse nodded at her, a sympathetic look on her face. “And the tube…” Annie ran her fingers along the edge of Sam’s mouth, careful not to bump the long plastic thing that seemed to be invading Sam like some grotesque horror film monster.
“It’s a special machine, breathes for him,” the nurse stated, trying to sound helpful, and Annie turned an angry glare on her.
“I know what it is. They took it out before; when did they put it back in?” She had to fight to keep from shouting at the nurse.
“They put him back on it this afternoon; he’ll probably have to stay on it for at least another day or two,” the nurse said, a defensive look clouding her features.
“He wasn’t so bad just yesterday, how could he… He’s going to be all right, though?” She stared at the nurse, feeling her eyes drilling holes into the other woman’s face, and the nurse bit her lower lip.
“Doctors are doing all they can. See this?” The nurse gestured to a large plastic tube full of liquid and attached to the bottom of the IV bottle. “Best antibiotics we’ve got, doctors say, real strong. Didn’t want to put him on it before because it’s so strong, it’s hard on other parts of him, but Doctor Denslow says he’s strong enough for it.”
“Annie…” Chris whispered her name, and Annie shook her head.
“Not now, Chris, I’m talking to the nurse,” she snapped at Chris, a bit more forcefully than she intended to, and then looked back at the nurse. “They’re certain he’ll make a full recovery though? Tell me they’re certain he’s going to make a full recovery,” Annie leaned forward, not caring if she was raising her voice to the other woman, who continued to shrink away from her.
“Please, Miss, calm down,” the nurse stammered, and something inside of Annie snapped.
“It’s Detective Cartwright. Not ‘Miss’, not ‘Love’, not ‘Dear,’ not anything else. Understand?” The nurse nodded. “Good. Now, have the doctors said that they’re certain he’ll make a full recovery?” Annie realized how loud her voice had grown, and backed away slightly, taking a few deep breaths, not daring to look at Sam again until the nurse answered her.
“They haven’t said as such, but I’ve seen other cases, especially when they’re young and otherwise healthy, and, and…” The nurse climbed slowly to her feet speaking in a low, calm voice, and Annie felt her own anger rise as she realized that the nurse was trying to adjust her own tone of voice to calm her down.
“Don’t you dare speak like that to me, I don’t need calming down!” She snapped, and the nurse nodded.
“Annie…” Chris said her name again, and placed a hand on her shoulder. She whirled around and snapped at him.
“Chris, I am perfectly calm!” She threw his hand off of her shoulder, roughly, and then turned back to the nurse, who was looking past her, staring at Chris.
“Sir?” The nurse gave Chris a questioning look, and Annie whirled around, noticing that Chris was staring at the wall, his face white.
“Chris?” Annie asked, and he raised his arm, pointing at the wall above Sam’s bed. Annie turned around and looked, and then gasped again. There, carved into the wall above Sam’s head, barely perceptible in the yellow light of the room, was the same marking that he had drawn on the pad at the station. It was turned sideways, the points of the letter facing the door, a W or an M, intercut with a strange, swirling pattern of ellipses. It was carved very lightly into the paint, but it was still there, and it was definitely the same pattern. She slowly moved to face the nurse again, her blood turning to ice in her veins. “How long has that been there?”
The nurse gave her the same odd look that she had given Chris earlier, and then turned to look at the wall. “I didn’t even notice it. Hard to see, isn’t it? I don’t know…” Annie turned to Chris, and their eyes locked, dead fear shining behind both pairs of eyes.
Ray chose that moment to enter the room, speaking to them as he opened the door, “I’ve got two plod coming, and ol’ Jimmy is setting up the next shifts for the night, leaving day shifts up to Phyllis, so… What?” He stared at the two of them, and they both pointed at the wall.
“That marking,” Annie whispered, “It’s the same one that was on the bottom of the sculpture Chris and the Gov found at the Antheneum.” She and Chris both turned and looked at Ray, who was squinting at the wall.
“Bloody hell. The bastard’s been here…” Ray felt his fists clenching at his sides, and he moved towards the door. “You two, stay put, I’m gonna get the Gov,” he said, and moved out of the doorway.
Chris backed slowly up against the far wall of the small room until his back was slammed into the plaster of it, and then slowly slid down to the floor, his eyes still locked on the mark. Annie took a step towards him, and then decided to leave him be for a moment, turning back to Sam. She knelt beside the bed and clasped his hand in both of hers, and then turned her attention back to the nurse. “We need to find someone that knows how long that mark has been there. It’s very important.”
The nurse met Annie’s eyes and nodded, and Annie turned her gaze back to Sam, reaching one arm out to smooth down his hair and caress the side of his face. “We’ll keep you safe, Sam. I promise. I swear.” Her voice caught in her throat as she said it, and then she looked back at the nurse, who moved towards the door.
“I’ll be right back, Detective Cartwright,” she said, and then vanished, leaving Annie and Chris alone in the room with Sam’s still form, the only sounds the thump and hiss of the respirator, and the beating of their own hearts, drumming wildly in their ears.
All comments and criticsm are highly encouraged and appreciated!